How do you draw celebrities?

[lavhoes]

Specifically, what are some tips to make the facial drawing look more like the person you're trying to represent?

Right now I'm trying to learn about facial types, and it'd help me tremendously to learn the very basic features that, if you got right, would make the drawing look like its subject. Not just a practice sketch, mind you; I'm going for something like being able to draw celebrities from memory, that sort of thing.

I remember seeing a post somewhere that said if you got two or three specific facial features correct, the reast would fall into place. I think it was something like eyes, nose, and ears, but I've forgotten. I've seen this advice somewhere before, and I think it'd help out, so if you know what I'm talking about please let me know.

I figure, if I can get down different facial types and features, I can start drawing more varied faces. Thing is, I don't know where to start. I've been drawing faces for a good three weeks now, something like over a thousand faces or so covering all my class notes and all of that, but I just don't know how to represent facial types.

So anyway, my basic question is this: what can I do to quickly sketch out a face and make it look like the subject I'm representing?

[bizarre]

think of it like math.

don't try to memorise face types. that's like trying to memorise multiplication tables. like 12x1-12x49... you know?

break it down into componants, and... yeah. dont work on getting to know the entire face.

focus first on the different features. wrinkles and how they're affected by light, oily or dull skin, pores, folds, hairs, then work on bone structure and then all the blah blah...

i started off giving advice then my ADHD kicked in.

sorry dude i tried to help but now i gotta go.

[dzu]

If you want likenesses, the features are the last thing to focus on. Construct the head first with the right proportions, length to width to depth. Then get the outside contour of the head and face followed by the inside contour of where the hair line is. This gives you the overall volumes characteristic to that individual and is about 70-80 percent of the likeness. Then go in and worry about the features. Make sure your head construction is solid, though, otherwise your contour won't help at all and the drawing will fall apart. Take a look at some of fredflickstone's head drawing tutorials for a more detailed method.

[lavhoes]

Aha! I knew I was doing something wrong.

I was going in and doing everything too specific too soon.

Thanks guys.

[jadedchron]

Cool, dzu. I can't seem to find his tutorials for the head - I checked his website but no luck.

[dzu]

Check the tutorials or life drawing sections of this message board...They've been stickied I do believe.

[jadedchron]

holy moly, I didn't even see that section. thank you!